Health insurance coverage is vital for families’ health and well-being. The benefits of coverage are documented from birth into adulthood and help to keep households financially stable. However, adults and children enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) often experience disruptions in their health coverage when they fail to meet regular plan renewal deadlines. States are exploring ways to prevent families from churning off and on Medicaid and CHIP roles. Read more.

The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) loan repayment programs help repay part of school loan debt in exchange for service in a medically underserved area. Did you know Community Health Centers are automatically approved sites for these programs? The 2025 application is now open, and interested clinicians can now access the Application and Program Guidance documents for the NHSC, Substance Use Disorder, and Rural Community loan repayment programs. The application deadline is May 1. Share this information with your clinicians and clinician candidates!

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and HHS published a final rule to further delay the effective date of the Expansion of Buprenorphine Treatment via Telemedicine Encounter and the Continuity of Care via Telemedicine for Veterans Affairs Patients rules finalized in January 2025. In February, the DEA announced an initial delay of effective date until March 21, 2025, and accepted public comments on the decision. The DEA states that due to questions of “fact, law, and policy” both rules are delayed until Dec. 31, 2025. While these rules are delayed, rural patients receiving buprenorphine via telemedicine without an in-person visit can still do so through Dec. 31, 2025, due to the temporary extension of flexibilities that are in place.

On March 18, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Sec. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., renewed the public health emergency (PHE) declaration for the national opioid crisis, extending key federal flexibilities for another 90 days. While opioid-related overdose deaths have declined by 25.5% over the past year, synthetic opioids like fentanyl remain the leading cause of drug-related fatalities, with 150 Americans dying daily from overdose. In rural areas, rates of drug overdose deaths are rising and have surpassed rates in urban areas. The PHE, first declared in 2017, allows HHS to maintain expanded authorities for data collection, demonstration projects, and research initiatives aimed at improving treatment access and coordination. Sec. Kennedy emphasized the Administration’s commitment to treating the opioid crisis as a national security emergency, continuing efforts to prevent substance use, reduce overdose deaths, and support recovery programs.

Effective with dates of service on and after April 1, 2025, the Department of Human Services utilizes an alternate payment methodology (APM) for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) that agree to accept it to make a supplemental payment at the medical assistance (MA) Program Fee Schedule rate for either a LARC device and its insertion, or the removal of a LARC device, in addition to payment for an encounter. The full bulletin is available for more information on how to opt-in to the APM and detailed billing instructions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) notified state health departments that they were cancelling several types of public health grants, effective the previous day. The CDC cancelled around $11 billion in grants directed toward COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and initiatives to bridge health disparities, while SAMHSA cancelled around $1 billion in grants focused on mental health services.

The Trump Administration is withholding millions of dollars allocated for family planning services from more than a dozen organizations. Enacted in 1970, the federal family planning program known as Title X makes millions of dollars available to clinics that provide health care services like birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing for people from low-income households. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) told Time Magazine in an email that the department is withholding Title X funds from 16 organizations “pending an evaluation of possible violations of their grant terms, including based on Federal civil rights laws and the President’s Executive Order 14218, ‘Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders,’” which Trump signed on Feb. 19. The Executive Order declares that undocumented immigrants are prohibited “from obtaining most taxpayer-funded benefits.” Source: Time Magazine

HRSA announced the grant opportunity for the Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program, which was scheduled to start on May 1, will now start on August 1. Successful grant applicants will be notified in July.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have released a pair of documents that describe DEI practices they may consider “illegal” and “discriminatory”:

·    The one-pager is entitled “What to Do if You Experience Discrimination Related to DEI at Work”, and outlines types of activities that the EEOC and DOJ consider discriminatory. As with many documents from the new Administration, it encourages people within an organization to report perceived violations to the government.

·        The FAQ document elaborates on the topics in the one-pager. FAQ #7 is particularly important: “When is a DEI initiative, policy, program, or practice unlawful under Title VII?”

The Senate confirmed Dr. Oz as the new Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in a party line 53-45 vote. In a letter earlier this week to Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), Dr. Oz affirmed his opposition to abortion and gender-affirming care for trans people, including for minors, leading to his confirmation.